Rauch named head of Shakespeare festival

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival has selected Bill Rauch as its next artistic director.

Rauch, 43, is no stranger to Ashland, Ore. A nationally known director, he has staged five shows at OSF including a current outdoor version of Shakespeare's "The Two Gentlemen of Verona."

Before launching a successful freelance career several years ago, Rauch spent two decades guiding the Cornerstone Theatre Company, a Los Angeles company he co-founded. Cornerstone collaborates with diverse communities to create shows rooted in timely concerns such as the plight of laid-off steelworkers and the role of religion in American life.

He is now co-directing Jeffrey Hatcher's "The Falls" at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Minn., and will stage the New York debut of Sarah Ruhl's "The Clean House" at Lincoln Center this fall.

Speaking from his Los Angeles home, Rauch said he will be working half-time at Ashland in 2007, during current OSF director Libby Appel's final season, then he'll take full charge of the theater in 2008.

"Ashland is where I really want to be, working with this company," said Rauch.

OSF, which caters to more than 100,000 theater patrons a year, will continue to present a mix of classic texts and new works, Rauch emphasized. "I love the company's eclecticism. I want to do Shakespeare in fresh and bold and innovative ways, and to look outside the Western canon to classic African, Japanese and Sanskrit texts, too."

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com